We spent the day exploring the UNESCO heritage city of Melaka. Our first stop was at the Maritime Museum. This museum is set in a recreated wooden ship and features history of the trading routes, reasons why Melaka was such an important location, and replicas of various types of ships that came through the ports of Melaka.
We then ventured along the river past the Clock Tower, Queen Victorias Fountain and Christ Church making our way up the hill to the ancient remains of St. Paul's Church. Originally built by the Portugese in 1521 it fell into Dutch hands in 1641 when the Dutch conquered the city. The church continued to be used for another century before the Christ Church at the bottom of the hill was built. Fast forward yet another century with the British now in power and the St. Paul's became a powder magazine store before completely falling into disarray. Today the church has had some restoration work done, and features some architectural support at one end. The church and the entire town of Melaka was full of tourists when we visited but it was still a memorable stop on our day in the city.
Following down the backside of the hill we passed the church's grave yard before finding our way down to the A Fomosa fort gate. This gate is the only surviving piece of the original Portugese fort built in 1511. From the gate we wandered around the hill to wait in line for lunch at the very popular restaurant 马六甲中华茶室海南鸡饭. The restaurant is popular for their chicken rice balls. The food was quite tasty but I'm not sure it was worth standing in line for half an hour.
Finishing lunch we wandered down some of the streets and alleys, taking in the views of the Melaka river. Some of the street art was interesting, the smells of the sewer systems were not. Leaving one street Scott spotted a mosque he wanted to see and wandered over toward it. While Scott was taking a couple photos Tori heard a familiar voice. The charismatic Italian Pizza maker from Nha Trang Fernando was enjoying a coffee and cigarette at a restaurant across the street from the mosque. The friendly old man was happy to hang out with us for a couple hours and tell us about where he has travelled, lived, and reproduced all over the world. A random meeting that made for a memorable afternoon.
With the sunset fast approaching we walked a couple of miles to the Melaka Straits Mosque and watched the sunset over the strait with about fifty or so other tourists. The mosque was a busy place with what seemed like hundreds of people arriving for their evening prayer.
All in all another good day.
We then ventured along the river past the Clock Tower, Queen Victorias Fountain and Christ Church making our way up the hill to the ancient remains of St. Paul's Church. Originally built by the Portugese in 1521 it fell into Dutch hands in 1641 when the Dutch conquered the city. The church continued to be used for another century before the Christ Church at the bottom of the hill was built. Fast forward yet another century with the British now in power and the St. Paul's became a powder magazine store before completely falling into disarray. Today the church has had some restoration work done, and features some architectural support at one end. The church and the entire town of Melaka was full of tourists when we visited but it was still a memorable stop on our day in the city.
Following down the backside of the hill we passed the church's grave yard before finding our way down to the A Fomosa fort gate. This gate is the only surviving piece of the original Portugese fort built in 1511. From the gate we wandered around the hill to wait in line for lunch at the very popular restaurant 马六甲中华茶室海南鸡饭. The restaurant is popular for their chicken rice balls. The food was quite tasty but I'm not sure it was worth standing in line for half an hour.
Finishing lunch we wandered down some of the streets and alleys, taking in the views of the Melaka river. Some of the street art was interesting, the smells of the sewer systems were not. Leaving one street Scott spotted a mosque he wanted to see and wandered over toward it. While Scott was taking a couple photos Tori heard a familiar voice. The charismatic Italian Pizza maker from Nha Trang Fernando was enjoying a coffee and cigarette at a restaurant across the street from the mosque. The friendly old man was happy to hang out with us for a couple hours and tell us about where he has travelled, lived, and reproduced all over the world. A random meeting that made for a memorable afternoon.
With the sunset fast approaching we walked a couple of miles to the Melaka Straits Mosque and watched the sunset over the strait with about fifty or so other tourists. The mosque was a busy place with what seemed like hundreds of people arriving for their evening prayer.
All in all another good day.
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